Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder which is characterized by trouble reading despite normal intelligence. Dyslexia is a learning disability in reading, and there are different types: difficulty with reading comprehension, spelling, and writing, among other issues. The types are phonological (can't sound out or decode words), surface (trouble with remembering whole words by sight), rapid naming (trouble with rapidly naming letters and numbers by sight), double deficit (a mix of phonological and rapid naming dyslexia, trouble with isolating sounds), and visual (trouble with recognizing whole words by sight).

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, affecting 10% of people. It affects both girls and boys equally, and 30% of dyslexics also have at least a mild form of ADHD. General problems include learning to speak, learning letters and their sounds, organizing written and spoken language, and spelling. Formal testing of reading, language, and writing skills is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of suspected dyslexia, and evaluation includes phonological awareness, decoding, reading fluency, comprehension, and rapid naming. Strengths of dyslexic students include creativity, art, computer science, design, drama, math, music, and sports. Some challenges for dyslexic students include holding and following a list of auditory instructions, listening and taking notes at hte same time, difficulties dealing with abbreviations, taking longer to write, untidy or incoherent writing, and difficulties reading and extracting information from the text.

Accomodations include clarifying or simplifying written directions, presenting a small amount of work, providing pictures of directions and schedules, highlighting essental information, providing additional practice activities, permitting the use of an audio recording device, using assistive technology, using large print text on worksheets, providing sentence starters that show how to begin a written response, writing key points on the chalkboard/whiteboard, providing a copy of lesson notes, using step-by-step instruction, simultaneously combining verbal and visual information, emphasizing daily review, placing the student near the teacher, displaying work samples, allowing instructional aids, providing additional time, using assignment substitutions or adjustments, using circle and large writing spaces instead of "fill in the blank" worksheets, and handing out number and letter strips for students to look at so that they could see how to property write. Teaching strategies can include increasing print awareness by asking the student to look for everything he/she could find with writing, providing multisensory experiences for students related to each book, choosing rhyming books with high repetition of words and phrases, using peer-mediated learning, giving them plenty of time to complete homework, marking based on effort an dideas, incorporating games in lessons, and working together with parents.